


[art+ficlet] Stella and Bucky

by potofsoup



Series: Genderbends [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Genderbending, Jennie "Bucky" Barnes, Stella Rogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 11:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17848235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potofsoup/pseuds/potofsoup
Summary: Collection of doodles of Stella and Bucky, with some ficlet bits, from 2014.





	[art+ficlet] Stella and Bucky

Stella always had too much spirit for a girl. When she asked to play with the neighborhood boys, they laughed. Then they just ignored her completely —- pretended that she didn’t exist. Stella didn’t make friends with the girls at school, either -— her ratty clothes, her thin frame, her disdain for dolls —- after two weeks the girls decided that there was something wrong with her, and proceeded to ignore her, too.

Stella got very good at reading books.

Then one day she was sitting on the stoop, reading the latest book she got from the library (The Count of Monte Cristo) when Jennie walked up. Jennie didn’t *look* like the type who’d notice Stella -— her shoes were shiny and new, her blouse had beautiful lace trim, and her hair was in perfect curls. She looked like some mother’s perfect little angel. Stella kept reading —- it usually didn’t take long before the new neighborhood kid decides that she was some sort of faulty specimen and moved on.

“Hey, that’s a good book.” Jennie sat down next to Stella. “I especially like his escape from prison —- it was so nerve-wracking,” she whispered excitedly. At first Stella didn’t know what to say —- it’s been so long since someone her age had spoken to her, so all she mustered was “You’ve ... read this?”

“Sure, my dad has all sorts of awesome books in the living room.”

“But ... this is a boy book!”

“Well, it’s not stopping you, is it?” Jennie smiled, then looked around. Seeing no other kids around, she sat down neatly next to Stella. “Though you should really read it at home -— if anyone here sees you reading that, you’ll never make any friends.”

She made it sound so easy.. “That’s their problem. If they want to be friends with me, they gotta read Dumas, too.” It sounded stupid and spiteful once the words left her mouth, and she didn’t know what to do -— here was a girl who not only spoke to her, but actually read cool books, and now she’s blown it — Stella stared intently at the page that she was reading and waited for Jennie to leave.

Instead, Jennie laughed. It was a deep, loud laugh. She kicked off her shoes and plunked her elbows on the book, acting very much *not* prim and proper. “I like you. Let’s be friends.”

———————-

Friendship with Jennie was weird. When Jennie was with Stella, she’d talk about a biography of Napoleon that she’d read, analyze the latest ball game, and insist on being called by her nickname — Bucky. But Bucky was also good at making other friends, and to them, she was always Jennie. Soon Bucky was getting Stella invited to socials with other girls, and as they got older, double dates with boys. Stella was always a mess at those things, but it made Bucky happy to have her tag along, and for some reason that was enough for everyone involved.

And Bucky was always there, no matter what. When her mom passed and Stella spent a week just sitting the apartment, it was Bucky who came to find her and hold her as she tried to cry but couldn’t. And when money got tight and Stella had to find a job, it was Bucky who salvaged the horrible hack job that Stella’d done on her hair, loaned her a good skirt, and found her the interview at the telegraph office.

————————-

After the war started, all the girls were in a hurry to date enlisted men and getting married, so naturally Stella decided to cut her hair short and try to enlist. Bucky of course thought this is ludicrous, but she knew better than to stop Stella when she had that look in her eyes. Instead, Bucky just signed up to be a nurse so that they can head out together.

Stella never even made it to the physical — the recruiter took one look at her and denied her application. So Stella tried again. And again. By the fourth time, checking “M” was as natural as pretending to be from New Jersey. She was gettiing increasingly desperate: Bucky had shipped out with the rest of the gals from the Red Cross, and she was alone again.

She thought about signing up for nurse training. Or maybe working in one of the munitions factories. But then she thought about all the girls who ignored her for her entire life, and decided to try enlisting one last time.

That was when Doctor Erskine intervened. His stamp of approval allowed her to skip the physcial and go straight to boot camp. And by the time the Army realized their mistake, she’d been introduced to a senator as the chosen test subject. So Colonel Philips decided to pretend they’d planned it all along. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved Stella and Bucky since 2014, and thankfully Maia_Saura was able to write "[The Amazing Adventures of Two Girls From Brooklyn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11284326/)" for the 2017 RBB, which is basically my dream come true. So, if you want more Stella and Bucky (and my pictures of them), go there!


End file.
